5th Generation Fighter Jet Comparison: F-22 Raptor VS F-35 Lightning II

            Development of two fighters in parallel with complementary roles, one heavyweight and more costly and the other light and relatively cheap, is far from unprecedented. The F-22 as an elite heavy fighter built to engage the most advanced enemy combat aircraft is a direct successor to the F-15C Eagle and F-4E Phantom from the respective fourth and third generations, while the F-35 follows on from the F-16 Falcon and the F-5E Tiger II in fulfilling the role of a low cost and versatile light fighter capable of fulfilling any number of roles on the battlefield but specialised in none of them. The heavy air superiority fighters have been far more restricted in their exports compared to their lighter counterparts, with the F-22 banned from export entirely while lighter aircraft have been built in much larger numbers, widely exported to all manner of U.S. allies and non aligned states, and in the fourth and fifth generations also acquired in much larger numbers by the U.S. Military itself.

Video: Out Of Your Mind

            In 1991, the US Air Force declared Lockheed and Pratt Whitney as the winners of the program. That was how the F-22 Raptor was born. Now let us take a quick look at the specifications of F-22. F-22 Raptor is a twin-engine, stealth tactical fighter developed exclusively for the United States Air Force. The aircraft was originally designed as an air superiority aircraft but it also has other capabilities like electronic warfare, signal interception, ground attack, etc.

            F-22 is a fifth-generation air superiority aircraft. Although, in stealth technology, it is considered a fourth-generation fighter. It is one of the few aircraft which have supermaneuverability, supercruise, stealth, and sensor fusion, all in a single platform.

            Whereas, The F-35 Lightning II is a product of the Joint Strike Fighter program. On November 16, 1996, Lockheed Martin and Boeing were awarded contracts for the Joint Strike Fighter program. Each firm had to develop two aircraft to showcase conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL), carrier takeoff and landing, and short takeoff and vertical landing (STOVL). On 26 October 2001, Lockheed Martin’s X-35 was declared the winner of the program. 

            In July 2015, the STOVL variant F-35B was inducted into the United States Marine Corps. Now, let’s take a look at what all features make the F-35 a good multirole aircraft. The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is a family of fifth-generation, single-engine, stealth multirole aircraft designed primarily for strike missions. The F-35 is the first operational STOVL stealth aircraft. 

1. Engine Configuration

        The F22 is a twin-engine aircraft whereas the F35 is a single-engine aircraft. The number of engines that an aircraft must have is often a subject of debate, but each configuration has its own set of advantages and disadvantages. For instance, in the area of air safety and survivability twin-engine aircraft outperforms single-engine aircraft whereas in the area of maneuverability and maintainability single-engine configuration is preferred.

2. Combat Design and Roles

            The primary role of F22 is air-to-air combat whereas the F35 is designed to be more adept at the air to surface warfare. The weapon bays in F22 are wide and shallow. On the contrary, the weapon bays in F35 are narrow and deep. This is because F22 is optimized to carry more air-to-air missiles and F-35 is optimized for carrying powerful air-to-surface bombs like  2,000 lb JDAMs.

3. Speed

        There is a significant difference in the speed of the F35 and F22. This is because the F22 is designed as an air-superiority aircraft, speed and high operational altitude are the basic features of F22, unlike F35 which is designed for different roles and capabilities. The maximum speed of F22 with afterburners is around Mach 2.25 and for F35, the maximum speed is around Mach 1.6 with afterburners which is slightly greater than the cruising speed of the F22 i.e. Mach 1.5.

4. Thrust to Weight Ratio

           Usually, single-engine aircraft have better manoeuvrability and thrust to weight ratio because they are lighter in weight. But, the case is different with F22. Despite being 28-32% heavier than the F-35, the double F-119 engines provide a respectable thrust-to-weight ratio of 1.08. 

On the other hand, the single F135 engine provides a thrust/weight ratio of around 0.87. Further, the thrust vectoring control in the F-22 adds to its maneuverability.

5. RADAR Cross Section

            The RADAR cross-section (RCS) is an important parameter when discussing stealth technology. Despite being designed in the 1980s, the F-22 has 10 times lower RADAR cross-section when compared to the F-35, thus providing more survivability in combat. 

Due to this significant difference in RCS, some defense analysts call the F-35 a “Pseudo-Stealthy” fighter.

        Ultimately the F-22 and F-35 are the most ambitious fighter programs in the Western world to have produced aircraft ready for combat, although the F-35 is currently restricted to a limited initial operating capability and is not yet ready for medium or high intensity engagements. The F-22 uses a much higher end more costly airframe, but has suffered from a difficulty incorporating upgrades and very high maintenance issues which along with its low production run mean it is likely to be retired from service decades ahead of the lower maintenance but more modern F-35 or even the old F-15. Although the F-22's airframe had more potential from the outset, the handling of the program means it will eventually be comfortably superseded by the F-35 which continues to receive upgrades and new technologies while efforts to modernise the Raptor have been much more conservative. This contrasts to their predecessors the F-15 and F-16 which both received upgrades and continued to be improved in parallel, ensuring that the F-22's predecessor the F-15 has always retained its superiority over its cheaper and lighter counterpart the F-35's predecessor the F-16. The F-22 and F-35 are set to continue to define the fifth generation for many years to come.